American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer Bruce Springsteen are best known for his work with the E Street Band. Many modern musicians have credited Springsteen as an inspiration because of his music’s poetic lyrics and working-class themes.
His music contains pop, rock, and folk influences, and he has experimented with a variety of genres over the course of his career, from electronic music on “The Rising” to folk-rock on his first two albums (2002). Among the many honors he has garnered for his music are 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, an Academy Award, and his 1999 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Bruce Springsteen idealized American themes and incorporated numerous American mythologies into many of his songs. It’s easy to say that throughout the years, Springsteen’s songs have touched the hearts of Americans. The singer, however, wasn’t always a proponent of American nationalism; at one point, he observed how the American dream had become perverted.
He also talked about American Dream during an interview with Rober Santelli in 2014. He discussed his album ‘Wrecking Ball’ and reflected on his frustration which led to the financial crisis in America.
“Yeah, I suppose it is. There’s a lot to be angry about, you know. The distortion and corruption of the American dream and a certain way of life, the loss of the full meaning of community. To me, those things felt under attack. My concern was that this all added up to a nation in decline.”
He also added, “Like other people, I know folks who were affected by the financial crisis, who lost their homes, lost their retirement savings. So it was all very, very real for me. You can have these feelings of frustration and not be able to write about it. That happened to me before. But in this case, I was working on another record that wasn’t about those things. Then I wrote a song that moved in that direction, and the rest came very quickly.”
The songs on Bruce Springsteen’s album “Wrecking Ball” represent his rage and disillusionment toward the bankers who caused the financial crisis, which he wrote during the height of crisis. He expresses his annoyance with Wall Street bankers notably in the opening tune “We Take Care of Our Own” and “Death to My Hometown.” ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ offers a more upbeat and positive message, focusing on Springsteen’s perspective on the American dream, in contrast to the depressing tone of these tracks.
His tracks on the album were truly against the American system and really showed his frustration towards the American Dream. Springsteen couldn’t just wait and see how people were struggling which is why he wrote ‘Wrecking Ball’.
